Internship cover letter

[PsyPsy]

Hi all,

looking to get some guidance regarding cover letters for internship. I’ve read letters should be 1-2 pages max. Does that mean 1-2 pages single-spaced or double?

I’m having a difficult time keeping everything that I want to incorporate succinct. Obviously I know that the letter should be about site fit, but I’m curious to know what reviewers look for. I’m wondering should I talk about everything, including practicum experiences, research, and training/courses? If so, how detailed should I be? Or instead, talk about research more in depth if the site is more research oriented? Should I focus more on what specific sites offer and then talk about how it would benefit my career goals and less about my past experiences?

I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m having difficulty with the happy medium so any tips are appreciated.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[psych.meout]

Hi all,

looking to get some guidance regarding cover letters for internship. I’ve read letters should be 1-2 pages max. Does that mean 1-2 pages single-spaced or double?

I’m having a difficult time keeping everything that I want to incorporate succinct. Obviously I know that the letter should be about site fit, but I’m curious to know what reviewers look for. I’m wondering should I talk about everything, including practicum experiences, research, and training/courses? If so, how detailed should I be? Or instead, talk about research more in depth if the site is more research oriented? Should I focus more on what specific sites offer and then talk about how it would benefit my career goals and less about my past experiences?

I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m having difficulty with the happy medium so any tips are appreciated.

Aren't your other essays for going into detail about your research and clinical orientation and experience?

 

[SomeGreatNotion]

I used my cover letters to talk about my perception of the site as a fit for my training goals. As psych.meout noted, you've talked about your research and clinical orientation. Therefore, you are couching those things into how this specific site matches the experiences you are expecting for your internship year. Also some sites want you to specify rotations you may want to rank.

 

[futureapppsy2]

These sites have a lot of cover letters to read. Counter intuitive as it may feel, you aren’t doing yourself any favors by having a cover letter that’s overly long. Also, remember that they also have access to your APPIC essays.

 

[child_psych123]

When I applied for internship, my cover letters ranged from 1-1.5 pages single-spaced. I think the most important thing to highlight is why you believe that THIS SITE specifically is a good match for you. How does their site align with your future goals? What about their internship program excites you? If there is something that this internship site offers that you have previous training experience in, you can definitely highlight that in the cover letter. Since this experience is likely already mentioned in your CV, you don't have to go into great detail explaining exactly what the experience was, but rather what you have learned from that training opportunity that you can bring with you to internship. Basically, what have your previous experiences taught you and how will you apply this knowledge/ build upon this knowledge in this internship program? There are many different approaches to writing cover letters and everyone has their own style, but this approach was very successful for me. Hope this helps!

 

[PsyPsy]

When I applied for internship, my cover letters ranged from 1-1.5 pages single-spaced. I think the most important thing to highlight is why you believe that THIS SITE specifically is a good match for you. How does their site align with your future goals? What about their internship program excites you? If there is something that this internship site offers that you have previous training experience in, you can definitely highlight that in the cover letter. Since this experience is likely already mentioned in your CV, you don't have to go into great detail explaining exactly what the experience was, but rather what you have learned from that training opportunity that you can bring with you to internship. Basically, what have your previous experiences taught you and how will you apply this knowledge/ build upon this knowledge in this internship program? There are many different approaches to writing cover letters and everyone has their own style, but this approach was very successful for me. Hope this helps!

Thank you for the thorough response!

 

[ccpsych16]

I’m applying this cycle, and all my cover letters I’ve done so far are just at the 2 pgs single spaced mark (with a space in between each paragraph). I start out the first paragraph stating the track I’m applying to, what program I’m in, and a couple of sentences about why I like the site overall and what my internship goals are. 2nd paragraph summarizes that I’ve achieved internship readiness (this is where you’d talk about comps, diss, and any other required benchmarks). The rest is structured around the rotations. For example, if a site requires we choose 2, each rotation has a paragraph. If more than 2, they’re logically condensed into 2 paragraphs. The paragraphs restate the relevant internship goal and why I prefer that rotation. Then i briefly state my clinical training that’s relevant. I have another paragraph where I mention my interest in any optional clinical or research opportunities. Final paragraph is a typical closing paragraph. This format changes a bit depending on the program but it’s pretty much this.

I tend to be wordy in my explanations. I suggest just writing the letter without worrying. Then you can go back and condense. I found a lot of repetitiveness in my letters within and between paragraphs that I was able to cut down.

Hope that helps and best of luck to us all! Before we know it there will be a new interview invitation tracking thread

 

[foreverbull]

When I applied for internship, my cover letters ranged from 1-1.5 pages single-spaced. I think the most important thing to highlight is why you believe that THIS SITE specifically is a good match for you. How does their site align with your future goals? What about their internship program excites you? If there is something that this internship site offers that you have previous training experience in, you can definitely highlight that in the cover letter. Since this experience is likely already mentioned in your CV, you don't have to go into great detail explaining exactly what the experience was, but rather what you have learned from that training opportunity that you can bring with you to internship. Basically, what have your previous experiences taught you and how will you apply this knowledge/ build upon this knowledge in this internship program? There are many different approaches to writing cover letters and everyone has their own style, but this approach was very successful for me. Hope this helps!

Agree. Your cover letter should leave no doubt in their minds that you’re a good fit for THEIR site & experiences they offer and enthusiastic about working with them and developing professionally. I also used a part of my letter to highlight what I gained from my experiences/what prepared me for internship (ie crisis management skills, assessment skills, supervisory skills, multicultural competence...whatever is applicable) and closed with how internship at their site can help me achieve my overall professional goals (reiterating fit via longterm goals).

If a committee reads your letter and thinks you could’ve written this letter to any site and they are unclear why specifically you chose their site, that is a problem. It might take some creativity if you’re applying completely to one track (ie college counseling, neuro, etc.), but you want to highlight the training experiences each site offers that are unique.

Ohe single-spaced page should suffice, but if it goes into the next page by just a few lines, it’s not a big deal.

 

[beginner2011]

I had about a half dozen letters from other students in my program who had already matched in previous years to use as models, and all their letters were minimum 1.5 pages. Most were 2 pages. I think it's useful to approach the cover letter as an opportunity to demonstrate that you read their brochure and understand the site's attitude toward training. I followed a pretty standard approach in each letter. First paragraph described my enthusiasm regarding the match between the training philosophy of my program and the internship broadly. Second paragraph described the specific clinical experiences I gained as a graduate student (show you have breadth/depth of training and take advantage of opportunities). Third paragraph described the specific training experiences at the site that I found attractive, and how they related to my experiences and career goals. Fourth paragraph addressed cultural diversity at the site and outlined why this is important to me as a psychology trainee. Fifth paragraph described my research interests and match with research opportunities at the site. Sixth paragraph summarized my excitement about the opportunity to complete my training at the site, and my confidence that it would help meet my training goals.

 

[WisNeuro]

I had about a half dozen letters from other students in my program who had already matched in previous years to use as models, and all their letters were minimum 1.5 pages. Most were 2 pages. I think it's useful to approach the cover letter as an opportunity to demonstrate that you read their brochure and understand the site's attitude toward training. I followed a pretty standard approach in each letter. First paragraph described my enthusiasm regarding the match between the training philosophy of my program and the internship broadly. Second paragraph described the specific clinical experiences I gained as a graduate student (show you have breadth/depth of training and take advantage of opportunities). Third paragraph described the specific training experiences at the site that I found attractive, and how they related to my experiences and career goals. Fourth paragraph addressed cultural diversity at the site and outlined why this is important to me as a psychology trainee. Fifth paragraph described my research interests and match with research opportunities at the site. Sixth paragraph summarized my excitement about the opportunity to complete my training at the site, and my confidence that it would help meet my training goals.

The norm is definitely 1 page for cover letters in internship apps. I'd say maybe 10-20% of the apps I read every year go over that.

 

[beginner2011]

The norm is definitely 1 page for cover letters in internship apps. I'd say maybe 10-20% of the apps I read every year go over that.

That's interesting. I was on the internship selection committee for my site last year and read about 60 applications really closely. I'd estimate the average for those to be a little over 1.5 with a negatively skewed distribution. I wonder if it's just my recall bias or if it's actually that different by site.

 

[WisNeuro]

That's interesting. I was on the internship selection committee for my site last year and read about 60 applications really closely. I'd estimate the average for those to be a little over 1.5 with a negatively skewed distribution. I wonder if it's just my recall bias or if it's actually that different by site.

It's possible. The trend does seem to be more lengthy in the past few years, but I review about 80 a year and they're still mostly on one page. They're not really all that key IMO. I pretty much just check to see that they actually listed rotations and info that pertains to our site. If anything, the longer cover letter just gives you more room to make a mistake that will look bad.

 

[beginner2011]

It's possible. The trend does seem to be more lengthy in the past few years, but I review about 80 a year and they're still mostly on one page. They're not really all that key IMO. I pretty much just check to see that they actually listed rotations and info that pertains to our site. If anything, the longer cover letter just gives you more room to make a mistake that will look bad.

Given that this year is going to be so different, with no in-person interactions, I wonder if cover letters will be more scrutinized? Perhaps another opportunity for applicants to communicate about themselves.

 

[WisNeuro]

Given that this year is going to be so different, with no in-person interactions, I wonder if cover letters will be more scrutinized? Perhaps another opportunity for applicants to communicate about themselves.

Some sites may, but I will not approach the cover letter differently. They're so form letteresque to be extraneous in the application. We get a much better feel for fit based on the CV trajectory and actually speaking to the applicant. I have never had the cover letter brought up in a ranking meeting except to call it out for a glaring error.

 

[beginner2011]

I have never had the cover letter brought up in a ranking meeting except to call it out for a glaring error.

Now that you mention it, I don't think I have either.